And we all fall down
by kiraras
Summary: The dragons have come,and they have left,leaving a swathe of destruction in their wake. Zeref struggles with himself,as he denies that he actually loves having such potent power. And how will those left behind survive in these remains of the past?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

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**The day the dragons returned, the world went up in flames.**

The Council that the humans were so proud of, fell. Theirs screams marked the beginning of the end. And the civilians scattered like insects, only to be torn apart by the teeth of the deadly hunters. The shimmering beauty of the dragons scales were tainted with human blood.

The wizards fought. Some fought valiantly, others ran for their lives. But now, it didn't matter who was cowardly and who was brave, for who would live to tell the tale? And the world fell into chaos.

In Magnolia, Cana was expending all her magic to protect the civilians while they ran for safety-But now that the dragons had come, where exactly was safe?-so she had no chance to react to the sudden appearance of a dragon dipping from the sky. Before she knew it, she had been picked up off the ground like a rag doll, and brought before needle sharp teeth. Then the teeth latched on to her chest, and she _screamed._ The last thing she heard was Gildarts-no,her father- screaming her name. "_Sorry, Gildarts" _Then the world went black.

In Magnolia, a dragon roared, majestic even now, when he was so close to death. And Mavis Vermilion turned away. Mavis knew she could not die now, for she was already dead. But right then and there, holding a dagger and surrounded by bodies of friends, strangers and enemies-_ GildartsCanaMakarovOHDEARGODMAKAROV!- _while bathed in the blood that had earned her the namesake Vermilion, she could not help but feel she was dying.

In Magnolia, a mother shoved her child of 2months down a dragons throat to survive. In Magnolia, a father wept for his lost daughter, and his grief led to his downfall. He was smiling as he died. In Magnolia, a guild master lay bleeding out on the streets, trash that had been broken so badly that even the vultures disregarded him. And he watched, through hazy vision, his surrogate family fall.

The dragon slayers screamed as they fought the dragons. They only screamed one word. "_**Why?" **_That was what everyone would like to know. Why am I dying? Why was my daughter taken? Why did I give up my child? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

That day, Fiore fell to the divine hunters of the old. And when the dragons' rage and bloodlust had been satisfied, a collective of broken voices cried out "_Why!?" _as the dragons took off to the sky in their terrifying beauty.

And throughout it all, Zeref laughed manically, while black tears traced his cheeks.

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Horrible? Fascinating? Give me a review, please! Cada,signing off!


	2. Chapter 1

Lucy crept through the ruins of Magnolia. It had been almost a week from the day the dragons attacked, _but no one was taking the risk of coming out of their fortresses. Not now, when there might still be_ dragons out there. Oh yes, it was almost certain that all the dragons had left, but no one wanted to get torn up and eaten like their missing companions. But Lucy was desperate. She needed the food, she needed the water. She needed to survive, because all her dead nakama would have pleaded for her to survive _(Just like Lisanna pleaded for her to survive when she had died in Lucy's arms). _Lucy turned a corner and met a blonde haired girl with green, green eyes. Mavis.

When Mavis saw Lucy, she wanted to cry. Why was it that someone as weak as _Lucy _had survived, but Makarov, the 3rd Guild Master, hadn't? It wasn't fair. But Mavis told herself that life wasn't fair, and she should know that after surviving 1 and a half centuries. So Mavis plastered on a fake smile and stepped forward to greet Lucy.

And so, they continued on, in this city of ghosts.

It was Mavis, who first taught Lucy how to survive, how to close her heart to the pain, how to numb herself. She taught her how to recognize edible plants, she taught her to take from the bodies of the dead, for who would care? It was a survival of the fittest world, and Mavis would make sure Lucy survived.

But sometime, Mavis would cry into her pillow at night when she thought no one was looking. She would remember Makarov, and Cana, and Gildarts. And she would remember the way they screamed. Then, Mavis would cry herself to sleep, and she would dream of blood that had stained her hands. What she didn't find out until later, was that Lucy would always wake up to her thrashing, and hold her hand until she calmed. Because underneath all the pain, all the wisdom, all the years, Mavis was still just a child.

And just like that, things started to get better.

Humans started to rise from the ashes, like the phoenixes of the old. Civilization started to rebuild itself from the ruins. But, the way it was done wasn't exactly ….respectable.

Pickpockets, prostitutes, and gangs roamed the streets. Nowhere was safe, and anytime, anywhere, there was the danger of being mugged. Magnolia was divided into turfs, and the gangs started to war. And thus, in this dog eat dog world, normality was defined. Funny how the definition of 'normal' had changed so much in just one day. Before, it was normal to see people chatting away, holding hands, showing emotion. Now, it was as if emotion itself was taboo.

But Lucy and Mavis had to fit in with the mow not-so-great multitude if they were to survive. So they put on the bland, cold, mask that all the others had donned. And it was only in the night, in their tiny shelter, when there were the stars, the moon and each other to bear witness, did they truly become Lucy Heartfilia and Mavis Vermilion once more.

But the one thing they would never do was join a gang, for joining a gang was like joining a bandit group to prey on the weak, and people belonging to Fairy Tail _didn't do that._ So their area became known as one of the taboo areas that wouldn't be trespassed on. Then, when things settled down slightly, Mavis started to teach Lucy how to better utilize her magic offensively. And Lucy started to spread her wings to become a powerful mage in her own right. But the icy numbness that had followed that day would never fade from the hearts of the young girls that in the end, were still just infants. They would never forget, but they would try, if only for each other's sake, to move on, for all members of Fairy Tail were family, and if one hurt, all the rest would as well. For that sort of bond wasn't going to fade.

And so, for a year, things were relatively peaceful. Then a powerful gang rose to infamy. It was called Hell's flame, and its leader was an unknown man called the Salamander. It targeted Mavis' and Lucy's home.

The demons and the fairies clashed. And 'normal', was once again redefined.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima**

The Salamander stared at the rundown little shack in disbelief. The 1st guild master and Heartfilia had been hiding out in a place like this? Then again, anything was possible now. The Salamander smiled, and it was not pretty. He would leave them a gift. As he turned away, pink hair fluttered in the wind.

In the Underworld, the Salamander relaxed. This was his territory, his domain, and no one would challenge him. They had all seen the burnt bodies of the ones that had. Now, it was time to attack the fairies.

Lucy returned to their small shack-and stared. Because their small shack, their fortress of a year, had been razed to the ground. "Mavis!" _This felt so reminiscent, except she used to encourage the burning._

As soon as Mavis saw the remains, she knew who had committed this atrocity. "Hell's Flame". Lucy didn't ask 'Why?' She had long realized there was no point. They did because they wanted to and nothing else. She was wrong. There was a bigger picture.

"So what do we do?"

"… We wait. And when they come out, we will destroy them."

"Who do you think they are?"

"Best not to know."

But Mavis already knew. And Lucy could tell that she was avoiding the question. But she didn't ask. What was the point? She didn't care.

And so, the calm before the storm arrived.

Lucy was the one who usually ventured out to go to the stores, as Mavis couldn't be seen by those who didn't have the Fairy Tail mark. So it was Lucy that was targeted.

They didn't start off small.

Lucy was aggressively bargaining over 2 loaves of bread when it happened. She only had a little time to react to the intense heat. But a little time was enough for her to jump out of the way of a huge gush of flame.

All around her lay charred bodies. But why should she care? She did not know these people. Then she looked up, and she died just a little more.

He had more scars, and his hair had been died black. He was recognizable but his eyes were that of a strangers. He had come back. _Him_. The traitor.

"Traitor…"


End file.
